Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.

I read the LA Times article by David Lazarus this morning while babysitting my grandson, and if it weren’t so undignified for a person of my age to get the giggles while babysitting a three-year-old, I would have (gotten the giggles.) Lazarus suggests that because some CEOs get paid more than their company pays in taxes, the whole system must be broken. Well, the whole system *is* broken, but that sure as hell isn’t the reason. I would suggest that this is the case with about 99% of small corporations, which may pay no taxes after the CEO pays himself, because the corporation has no profits to declare after the CEO takes his salary. But even confining the argument to big corporations, I would suggest that reducing taxes is one of the CEO’s biggest tasks (US corporations essentially being formed around various aspects of the tax code.) In fact, I would think that any rational board would give a whopping big raise to the guys Lazarus listed, especially those who actually figured out a way to get a tax refund for their companies. Lazarus’ comrade-in-arms, the economics genius Michael Hiltzik, inspired a similar bout of giggles as few months ago when he carefully explained that Social Security was in no danger at all because, see, the **government had given IOUs for all the money that it had borrowed over the years, so in reality, Social Security is perfectly adequately funded..**

I didn’t actually count the number of pages in the full newspaper this morning, but it must have been around sixteen. Fifteen years ago it would have been around a hundred or so. These guys are one reason why. True, the internet took most of that (and Craig’s List in particular) but in my heart I’m still convinced that people would pay for good information. Why in god’s name would you rely on a newspaper story like this Lazarus piece that quotes its sole source as “the left-leaning Institute of Policy Studies?” I mean, even Fox News puts up TWO talking heads, one on each side, even if both of them are lying like mother******s.

VennData: i saw another one you may have seen, which was also “on point.”

http://www.theonion.com/articles/rnc-builds-levee-out-of-poor-people-to-protect-con,29337/
RNC Builds Levee Out Of Poor People To Protect Convention Site
TAMPA, FL—With Tropical Storm Isaac’s torrential rains battering the Gulf Coast of Florida, Republican National Convention organizers raced to build a protective levee out of local poor people Monday in order to prevent the Tampa Bay Times Forum from flooding. “We brought in several truckloads of low-income residents and welfare recipients from the Tampa area, and we have dozens of volunteers laying them down flat and packing them real close together to create a watertight barrier,” said Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, noting that there were “more than enough” impoverished families devastated by foreclosures to fashion a sufficient levee around the entire 20,000-seat structure. “We’re still looking forward to a very productive, successful three days of celebrating conservative values and laying out a bold new direction for our country. And in terms of the storm, the poor people are now stacked nearly 5 feet high and 4 feet deep, so we should be good.” In a further attempt to assuage concerns about safety, Priebus confirmed that crews had already secured the convention site against high winds and debris by nailing hundreds of illegal immigrants over the arena’s windows.

I’m watching local NOLA Isaac coverage on http://www.fox8live.com from the comfort of Houston. Main danger seems to be to cars from street flooding from rain as it’s moving slowly. Main discomfort is no A/C when the power goes out. Humidity builds up quickly with doors and windows closed. Probably half the metro area is dark.

My daughter had to call to tell me hers was out. She got mad and hung up when I suggested that she might want to save her cell phone battery in case it’s off awhile.

Thanks for all you do. Your September 27, 2010 article, “The Left Right Paradigm is Over: Its You vs. Corporations,” put into words a truth i have yet to see explained more clearly. The article on Chris Christie of New Jersey mentions first and foremost his bill restricting teacher tenure and pensions, and I think this pertains to the new paradigm you described. In my view, this is not being done to protect students from poor teaching; it is being done to squeeze money out of education.

Any thoughts on K-12 education as the next potential bubble? I think there’s an all-too-obvious reason why it’s the only political issue on which politicians on the Left and Right seem to agree, in spite of extensive, largely unheeded skepticism from educators and researchers on both sides of the political spectrum. Housing and health-care have been tapped dry, so it seems only rational that Corporate America seeks the next biggest untapped domestic market in which to drill.

I. happen to think Barry vs Bill is a super heavyweight fight, but as much ask hate to say it, I’m with Mr. McBride. The housing bottom, both in new home sales/construction and in nominal prices is past. Bill doesn’t see a v bottom or anything crazy like that, just a gentle sloping flat to upward regression line trend in nominal prices. On this one, for one and maybe only once, I think Barry is guilty of confirmation bias.

Time will tell, but my view is that the housing recovery is here, even if it is going to be slow in both construction and price terms.

foss: don’t be fooled by temporary upticks – we’re still experiencing foreclosures, lay-offs, business closings, and other “dampers” on home-ownership (not to mention that there is a HUGE surplus of homes that the banks haven’t “processed” yet to put on the market – and let’s not even discuss commercial real estate). The next generation coming up is going to have a hard time (with low wages and student loan debt) trying to become homeowners. i don’t see it lasting (no fundamentals to base it on).

“JIM VANDEHEI, on “Morning Joe,” looking ahead to tonight’s Paul Ryan speech, in the 10 p.m. hour: “If Mitt Romney doesn’t win, there’s going to be a battle for control of the Republican Party…there’s a whole new breed of people coming in that are going to run this party. They’re all in their late 30s or in the 40s. Go talk to Marco Rubio. Talk to Paul Ryan. Talk to [Gov.] Scott Walker in Wisconsin. “We finally have elected officials who have in their MINDS what all of those voters had in their hearts in 2010. We finally have an intellectual infrastructure to put around that spirit of, ‘Let’s make government smaller’ … Mitt Romney: All he needs to be is the capsule. Just take that. Take it, and be the businessman. Take all that stuff, and put it into action.”

By now it should be obvious that Republicans are not against government spending per se, just against spending by Democratic Party controlled governments. GWB spent plenty and expanded the size of government and so did Reagan. They just want to spend with their friends. Likewise low interest rates and QE3 and beyond. http://www.businessinsider.com/mitt-romney-greg-mankiw-2012-8

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About Barry Ritholtz

Ritholtz has been observing capital markets with a critical eye for 20 years. With a background in math & sciences and a law school degree, he is not your typical Wall St. persona. He left Law for Finance, working as a trader, researcher and strategist before graduating to asset managementRead More...

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